The harsh shadows cast from the headlines seem filled in with scorching heat! Increasing taxes on everything when the economy has tanked so badly that many have no income, yet, they still must pay taxes on food and the necessities of life! The religious hatred that is spewed both in threats to foreigners and to their own citizens, the disquieting feeling deep within that the government here in America that has always been sort of ‘there’ is now dissipating and there is no one behind it with an appealing face. With the years indulging in self it seems fitting that soon enough it will be everyone for themselves as utter chaos comes to life with no constraint. These are horrifying visions and realities but except for a small portion of souls on this earth, it has been the life routine for many around the world all their lives. The right to peaceful and quiet living does not exist in so many places and the shadow that looms over those souls is always suspect of yet another frightful moment in a long series of foreboding and terror.
With each passing day the shade we wind up in does not provide relief from the sun or hot winds.
There is ONE who casts a long and protective shadow. The Psalmist wrote this: “How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.” [Psalm 36:7]
What contrasting terminology ‘precious is your unfailing love, O God!’ to ‘I will wipe you off the map’!
Can I say it again? “How precious is your unfailing love, O God” What a powerful sentence! The shadow is used as a metaphor for protection, security, concealment. John, the apostle of Love wrote: “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.”[1 John 4]
Think upon God’s love, ‘how precious is your unfailing love, O God’. “All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.”
While we are faced with the ugly of news and events everyday and find ourselves grappling with the heat of a harsh world, meditate on how ‘precious’ and ‘UNFAILING’ God’s love is. All who live in love live in God and God lives in them. What a powerful statement! We MUST live in love. Staying under the long shadow cast by God gives us respite from the realities of a dying world and renews our ‘love’ in God and HIS in us. If we let that love vibrate out from within we can positively affect those around us and extend God’s shadow by one more being.
We have some dark, even darker times coming ahead of us. We likely cannot conceive of the fearful things we will experience, yet, if we scoot up way inside that long shadow and embrace the precious and unfailing love of God we will be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, cast in a fire but emerging untouched even of the ‘smell’ of fire because of the ‘precious and UNFAILING love of God’!
Please extend God’s shadow to include one more weary soul. Point them to the Love of God, the precious, unfailing, love of God so as we all live in that love of God we grow perfect! AMEN!
We may not be able to stem the tide of evil and darkness that is sucking the life out of this planet but while evil towers over us our God will eclipse evil with HIS own Shadow. Have faith.
Contemplate how cool it feels to the bare foot that has just run across the hot asphalt to land upon a cool shaded place. God is Good!
